MIND-BODY-SPIRIT
Cracking the Chrysalis - Surrendering to Transformation
I know about my humanity, am I able to accept and love my self?” A hesitant response is a call to dive deep with trust into that perhaps unwelcome nudge by Spirit within—the push-pull urge that lets you knowshift is happening. Spirit is pressing you tomake a choice and take action. An affirmative answer to the questions is a giant step along the path of personal transformation, one phase of a lifelong journey, a jour- ney that is not for the faint of heart. As each of us lean into our individ - ual transformation, we become catalysts for universal transformation. The Call To Transform To be willing to transform is the ultimate declaration of faith. In order to open to transformation, we must be willing to let go of all that is known, all we know about ourselves, all of the identifi - ers that are so comfortably reassuring. Far beyond belief that often calls on conditions for validation, surrendering to transformation requires a level of trust many humans find challenging. Transfor - mation is described as a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance, or character. This is our metamorphosis—the drop- ping away of what was known in order to awaken to whatever is. Spiritual transformation requires us to embrace a new identity, a new incarnation of which we may not have an inkling. This is the dec- laration, “Here I am, Lord. Use me!” without checking it out in advance to see if it is an assignment that meets our worldly concept of ourselves. Whew! What an amazing idea! Do you find the whole idea a bit scary? Very often we feel scared when we are moving into an unknown. It may be when we are asked to go somewhere or do something for the first time. It’s unfamiliar and doesn’t fit within our identity, our continued on page 30
Cracking the chrysalis is one stage in our own metamorpho- sis, a Greek word that means transformation. It feels like we each wrapped ourselves in a cocoon about March of 2020. We had no idea what was ahead of us. I wonder when a caterpillar wraps it- self in cozy silk, if it understands the silk is going to harden into a casing and what it believes itself to be when wrapping will nev- er be the same? That’s rather what happened to us. Like the cater - pillar, we released life as we had known it—we dissolved—and re- formed as something new…or at least we have been offered the opportunity to be a new, best-yet-to-be expression of ourselves. Fortunately, although some of us may feel like our natural circadi- an rhythm has time-warped into a cicada’s 17-year cycle, it is time to prepare to break out of our chrysalis, to venture into being physically, socially engaged. Much progress has been made so we can safely enter a new phase of our metamorphosis. For some people who have been pining for physical connection, it’s been way too long. For many oth- ers who adapted more deeply to the predictability of life in a cocoon, the prospect of “re-entry” is disquieting, if not outright alarming. Considering the many changes of this past year in our external cir- cumstances, I don’t know anyone who has declared, “Wow! Can we do this all again?” However, when we look at the personal and spir - itual growth that has occurred, I am grateful—even amid the grief. I invite you to ask yourself, “How do I love thee… The One?” in order to rip the cover off, “How do I love myself?” Or, more accurately, “Do I love my self?” And, “Am I sufficient - ly present and do I possess a level of trust that makes it possi- ble for me to love my self without conditions?” Knowing all that BY TRISH HALL
PATHWAYS—Summer 21—29
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